Misunderstanding
by mydarlingl0ve
Summary: Mentions of suicide. Three shot. Sakura and Ino get into an argument, ending their friendship. Sakura slowly falls apart and goes missing. Kakashi is the one who finds her.
1. chapter 1

Ino was glaring at Sakura in front of her flower shop, face red with anger. Sakura was fighting back tears as she said in a small voice, "Ino, I didn't-"

"I don't care, Sakura!" Ino shouted, her figure shaking with anger.

Sakura hung her head and brought her hands to her chest, twisting her fingers into the fabric of her shirt as her eyes filled with tears.

"I can't believe, you of all people, would say something like that! You have no right to say anything about how I handle my child."

Sakura said nothing as her tears fell to the ground, a small puddle forming at her feet. She didn't know what to say. There was no sense in talking to Ino when she's this angry.

"Aren't you going to say anything?!" Ino raised her voice louder than Sakura had ever heard, causing people to stop and see what was going on. She tried to ignore the stares, but right now, she didn't care.

Sakura shook her head and sobbed quietly, unable to speak.

"Get out of my face. I never want to see you again!" Ino spat as she turned on her heel and left Sakura in front of the shop.

Sakura let out a shaky sigh and wrapped her arms around herself, slowly walking back towards her apartment.

Her legs shook with every step she took. Eventually, she walked into an alley between two buildings and sunk to the ground. She hugged her legs to her chest and just weeped.

The sun was setting, but she didn't care. She continued to sit there until she heard a soft rumble of thunder in the distance. Wordlessly, she rose to her feet and walked the next block over until she was standing at the top of the stairs leading to her apartment.

She leaned her head against the cold wood of the door and closed her eyes. All she could see was Ino's face, yelling at her. Fresh tears threatened to fall as her thoughts slowly took over.

She felt worthless. The worst kind of trash one could be. The sound of heavy rain broke her out of her thoughts. Opening her eyes slowly, she reached a shaking hand into her pocket and took out her keys. She missed the lock twice and swore under her breath. After finally getting it open, she stepped into her cold, dark apartment and softly closed it behind her.

Sakura felt so alone and abandoned. How could her best friend, practically her sister, assume a rumor to be true? Ino didn't let Sakura get any word in as she yelled.

Sakura's broken sob was the only sound in the apartment. She fell to her knees and cried. Cried for the loss of her friend. Cried for not being strong enough to tell Ino that the information she'd heard was wrong. Feeling helpless and broken, she numbly walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

A soft knock was heard on her door early the next morning, but there was no answer. Day after day, at the same time every morning and evening, there'd be a knock on her door.

A week had passed and no one had seen or heard from Sakura. Naruto demanded a search party be sent out, thinking something had happened while she was out, but Kakashi shook his head.

"I'm sure she's fine, Naruto. I'll run by her apartment again later, but I doubt she'll be there. Even she can't mask her chakra for this long. The ANBU stationed outside her complex haven't seen her enter or leave. She's not in the village, so she's gotta be out. She's a strong ninja, if she needed backup, she'd have called for it. Now please, I have work to do." Kakashi dismissed Naruto with a wave of his hand.

Naruto wanted to speak again, but Kakashi's tone told him that the discussion was over.

Kakashi sighed when the door closed behind Naruto. Pulling his mask down, he let out a shaky sigh.

"Where are you, Sakura?"

When Kakashi knocked on Sakura's door again that evening, there was still no answer. Panic finally began to bloom in his chest when he smelled the faint scent of blood coming from inside.

"No," He whispered to himself as he fumbled around his pockets for the emergency key she'd given him when she became head of the hospital.

Finding the key in the left chest pocket of his vest, his shaking fingers fought to keep hold of the cool metal.

"Damn it, come on." He mumbled to himself before successfully unlocking her door. It slowly creaked open and an odd smell was coming from inside that Kakashi would know anywhere.

His heart lurched into his throat as he ran into the apartment, checking every room. The last room to check was where the smell was strongest. The bathroom. Kakashi's heart hammered with fear as he broke the lock and the door swung open, revealing his worst nightmare.

Sakura was laying naked in the empty bathtub, deep red stained her pale thighs and fingers. Kakashi choked back a sob as he fell to his knees next to the tub. He ripped his mask down before reaching a shaking hand up to run his fingers through her hair.

His heart stopped when his fingers touched her skin. She was too cold. Attempting to keep his panic under control, he leaned over the tub and put his arms underneath her, one under her knees and one under her head.

He picked her up and pulled her into his lap, grabbing the towel that was on the counter to cover her body.

"Sakura," he whispered as he held her tightly against his chest. He didn't know he was crying until he felt her hair grow wet.

"Why did you do this?" He mumbled as he looked over her arms and legs with the help of the full moon dimly lighting the room.

"Why did you have to go and leave me like this? I never got to tell you…" his voice broke off as he held her even tighter and sobbed into her hair. Her cold body warming as he tried to share his body heat with her.

Kakashi knew he had to get her out of here and to the hospital, but there was no way he could do that without alerting the ANBU outside.

He felt his heart breaking with every passing second. He brushed her bangs out of her face and he saw that her lips weren't blue from the cold, nor were they as pale as they should be. Kakashi felt a flicker of hope in his chest as he began to cover her face with kisses, tears following behind in their wake. He felt a faint thump of her heart fighting to beat.

She wasn't gone. Not yet.

Kakashi's eyes widened and he immediately summoned Pakkun, keeping a firm hold on Sakura's body.

"It's late, boss. What's-"

"Pakkun, listen, I need you to run and find Tsunade. Tell her it's Sakura." The panic and fear in Kakashi's eyes must've been noticeable because Pakkun took off running without a word.

"Hold on, Sakura." He whispered into her hair. "Hang on, love. Please. I can't lose you, too. I promise, if you wake up, I'll personally see to it that whoever made you do this will be put away for a long time. So, please," his voice was as broken as he felt. "please wake up."


	2. chapter 2

The last thing Sakura felt before she passed out was her body being surrounded by a soft warmth. Her consciousness held on long enough for her to hear something that made her heart clench.

"The only way you're getting her out of my arms is if you pry her from my cold, dead hands." The deep voice said in a cold tone. Sakura couldn't match the voice with anyone she knew, but whoever it was loved her greatly. Slowly fading into her own mind, she felt her body relax and she suddenly had the feeling she was falling.

There was no pain when she hit the ground. No shock from the impact. Sakura opened her eyes and attempted to take in her surroundings. It was dark, and strangely warm. She stood on shaking legs and noticed a small light rapidly getting larger. She shielded her eyes from the bright light.

When everything became clear, she saw she was standing on a bridge that looked familiar. She looked up and gasped. She saw her own back in front of her. Encased in a light beige cloak, the pink haired figure in front of her was looking at someone she'd hoped she'd never get to see again. Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura scowled as she watched the old memory unfold.

Sasuke was impassively looking at the Sakura in front of him.

"Finish her off." He said as he pointed at the red headed woman laying on the ground. "If you do, I'll believe you." His cold voice rang out and made her shiver.

Anger rose in Sakura as she watched the memory unfold. She watched the internal struggle the her standing a few feet away was having as she heard the kunai hidden underneath the cloak be clenched in her shaking fingers.

Before she could shout, a silver figure sped passed her and grabbed Sasuke's arm just before Sasuke's chidori could connect.

She remembers feeling relief practically radiating off of Kakashi as he swiftly landed in front of her.

"Sakura, you planned to kill Sasuke on your own, didn't you?" He paused as he continued to glare at Sasuke. "There's no need for you to carry such a heavy burden on your own. I was Team 7's leader, so I hold resentment towards myself for the team's falling out."

Sakura's heart swelled and ached at the same time at his words. All he'd wanted to do was ease her pain so she didn't do something that ended with her injured or worse. Tears threatened to fall as she remembered the last thing she heard before she fell unconscious. "'The only way you're getting her out of my arms is if you pry her from my cold, dead hands.'"

Her eyes widened when she finally made the connection. _Kakashi was the one who found me._

Sakura's feet began to move on their own as she ran toward the Kakashi in front of her, but when she went to make the jump over the gap, her feet became rooted to the spot.

Suddenly, her surroundings changed.

She was back in her apartment. She was standing in front of the bathroom door. She heard a choked sob and saw Kakashi holding her towel clad body in his arms. His face was buried in her hair. The scene before her broke her heart. She looked at her body and saw deep, almost black, gashes running down her forearm.

Her eyes ran over the other parts of her body she could see. Her thighs had cuts and shallow slashes, her face was stained with tears and slighter more pale than normal.

She looked back at Kakashi and saw him whispering things into her ear, tears running down his bare face and landing on her shoulder.

"Why did you have to go and leave me like this? I never got to tell you-" His voice broke as a sob was ripped from his chest.

Sakura watched as he wrapped himself around her, trying to keep her warm until he came up with a plan. She covered her mouth with her hand as her own tears fell.

"Oh, Kakashi," she mumbled before she felt as though the wind was knocked out of her, shutting her eyes, she prepared for impact. Yet, it didn't come.

She opened her eyes again and saw that she was in the hospital. She saw herself standing over a bassinet.

Her heart dropped when she realized where she was and fell to her knees, clutching her chest.

"I'm so sorry," she heard herself say in a broken whisper. "I wish I could've saved you."

Sakura looked up in time to see herself holding twin baby girls in her arms.

Sakura shut her eyes tight as she remembered what happened. The mother of the twin girls was stabbed in the chest on her way back from shopping. She was 8 month pregnant and the babies didn't survive. Sakura fought for eight hours straight to save them, but failed.

That's why she'd approached Ino that afternoon. Ino's son was unsupervised and Sakura immediately panicked and scolded the child out of fear of seeing him hurt. Ino walked out of the flower shop when she saw Sakura grab his arm, thinking she'd spanked him.

Ino was so mad that Sakura had grabbed her son that she lashed out.

Sakura let out a shaking sigh as she wrapped her arms around herself and walked away from the scene before her, unable to stand it anymore. She turned around and started falling again, except this time, there wasn't any light. It was complete darkness. Sakura screamed, but to no avail. She just kept falling and hoped if she hit the ground, no one was around to see it.

Kakashi leaned forward in the chair he was in placed his forehead next to Sakura's stomach on the hospital bed. He had barely left since Tsunade had helped him get Sakura out of her apartment and into the hospital almost a week ago. Sakura hadn't regained consciousness and Kakashi told every nurse that walked in that he wasn't going to leave her side.

Naruto had started his training to be Hokage with the help of Shizune and Shikamaru so Kakashi could stay by Sakura's side until she woke up.

Kakashi never let her hand go. She had many visitors. Even Ino came, her face stained with tears. Kakashi felt guilt radiating off of her and knew that she had something to do with why Sakura was like this.

"Ino," he spoke before she turned away. He looked up from Sakura's face to see Ino staring at their intertwined fingers.

"Do you know what happened?" His cold voice made her flinch. She nodded as fresh tears threatened to fall.

"I yelled at her," she admitted in a small voice, clutching the sheet with her shaking fingers. "She laid a hand on my son, I had no idea-" She was cut off by the sound of a chair smashing against the far wall behind Kakashi.

He glared at her and spoke through gritted teeth, "This is your fault. Couldn't you see how torn she was?" He fought to keep his voice low as he spoke. "Twin baby girls died in her arms the morning you yelled at her. You overreacted and pushed her away because you assumed she laid a hand on your son?"

Ino shook with regret as she held her head in her hands and sobbed. "Oh, Kami. Sakura, I'm so sorry." She whispered as she reached a shaking hand to brush Sakura's growing bangs to the side.

Kakashi watched as Ino slowly walked out of the room. He sighed to himself and reluctantly released her hand to get a new chair, but before he left the room, he pulled his mask down and leaned down to press a soft kiss to Sakura's forehead.

"I'll be right back." He whispered softly before pulling his mask up and leaving the room.

While he was gone, Ino returned with a large bouquet of white and red roses. She set them next to the bed with a card. She had grabbed a small stuffed bear on her way back and set it gently beside her.

She left the room before Kakashi returned. When he came back, he noticed the flowers and smiled a small smile.

He set the new chair next to the bed and grabbed her hand again, twining their fingers together.

"It's been over a week, Sakura. I really need you to wake up now." He whispered. The only response he got was the beeping of the heart monitor, his only indication that she was alive. Some of her color had returned, but she still looked lifeless and it tore Kakashi apart.

To pass the time, Kakashi had requested Sakura's favorite books be brought to the room. He noticed that one of the books was a step by step guide on how to braid hair. Curious, he flipped through the pages and ended up teaching himself how to do it. Sakura's hair had grown out since the war ended, so it neared her waist.

Kakashi smiled to himself as he absentmindedly began to run his fingers through her hair, twisting it here and there. Before he knew it, he had produced a beautiful braid that framed the right side of her face and ended near her stomach.

"That's beautiful, Kakashi."

A voice coming from the door behind him startled him and he dropped her hair back to the bed. Embarrassed to have been caught braiding Sakura's hair, he didn't turn to see Tsunade approach him. She put her hand in his shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"She'll wake up soon, Kakashi. Her brainwaves have been more active and almost all of her color has returned. It's looking like she'll be awake in the morning."

Kakashi heart soared at the news. He looked up to see Tsunade looking at Sakura with fondness in her gaze.

"She's a strong woman. She'll be okay. You should go clean yourself up. I'm sure she wouldn't want you to look like you've been sitting here the whole time."

Kakashi sighed. She was right. He slowly untangled their fingers and stood. Tsunade patted him on the back and smiled as she turned on her heel to leave.

"Oh, by the way, I approve." She winked before closing the door behind her. Kakashi felt himself blush as he looked back down at Sakura.

"Well, glad I don't have to have that conversation." He chuckled to himself and headed to the open window next to the bed. With one last look at Sakura, he disappeared into the darkness below and rushed back to his apartment feeling more hopeful than he ever has.

Sakura briefly regained consciousness, but couldn't move her body. She could hear what was going on around her, but couldn't move to show she was awake.

"Oh, Kami. Sakura, I'm so sorry." She heard a broken voice whisper.

Ino?

She felt something soft touch her forehead briefly before she heard retreating footsteps and a soft sigh. Her left hand grew cold suddenly and she missed the warmth. Before the second set of footsteps retreated, she felt warmth on her forehead. She was sure she would've been blushing if her body would catch up to her brain.

Feeling alone, the tightness in her chest subsided and she felt herself fading again.


	3. chapter 3

A bright light made Sakura groan softly and stir in the bed. She heard a gasp and turned her head and tried to open her eyes. It took a moment for them to adjust, but when they did, she saw Kakashi staring at her with wide eyes.

"K-kashi?" Her voice sounded rough as she spoke. Kakashi choked out a laugh as his tears freely fell from his eyes, not caring that she saw them.

"Sakura," He whispered as he squeezed her hand before bringing her fingers to his lips to softly kiss her knuckles.

"You're finally awake."

Sakura blushed and Kakashi dropped her hand quickly, remembering that she wasn't aware of how he felt.

"Sorry, I got a little overwhelmed. You've been unconscious for almost two weeks."

Sakura's eyes widened and she tried to sit up. Kakashi rushed forward to help her and adjusted her pillows. At that point, Sakura noticed that her hair was braided with small daisies throughout the braid.

"Who did this?"

Kakashi felt his face grow hot and he avoided her questioning gaze.

"Umm.. I did. Tsunade brought some of your books here. I wanted to read to you a little. Just to fill the silence, but I noticed the top book was on braiding hair so," His voice trailed off and Sakura giggled before coughing hard.

Kakashi mentally slapped himself for not thinking she'd need a drink. He found a styrofoam cup above the sink and quickly filled it with cool water.

After her coughing fit subsided, she gratefully accepted the cup and welcomed the coolness running down her throat.

After a moment, she looked back up at him.

"What happened? How did I get here?" She questioned as he sat back down next to her. Reflexively, he reached for her hand, but stopped himself.

Clearing his throat, he spoke softly. "You'd been missing for a week after you left the hospital at the end of your shift. I had ANBU stationed outside your apartment and Naruto wanted to send out a search party. I stopped by every morning and afternoon to see if you'd returned. The last night I stopped by, I smelled blood faintly coming from inside and I used the emergency key you'd given me and I found you in the bathroom."

Kakashi paused to take a deep breath before continuing.

"I found you in the bathtub, naked, with your arms and thighs covered in drying blood."

Sakura gasped and reached for his hand and gripped it tightly.

"I'm so sorry I put you through that." She whispered.

Kakashi shook his head and squeezed her fingers.

"I covered you with a towel and held you in my lap." He whispered, his voice laced with anguish. "I was afraid you'd died. I couldn't do anything to help you."

Kakashi blinked back tears as he continued. "I summoned Pakkun and had him go find Tsunade so we could bring you here. You weren't dead, but your heart was barely beating. Your chakra healed your wounds, but you'd lost so much blood. I didn't think I'd made it in time. Your heart was fighting to keep you alive and it killed me to see you so defeated."

Sakura reached over and laid her hand on his masked cheek and wiped a stray tear with her thumb.

"Thank you for coming to find me." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

Kakashi's face fell as she pulled her hand away. "What's wrong?"

"Was...was Ino here?" She whispered.

Kakashi's face softened once more as he nodded in the direction of the flowers, card, and stuffed bear.

The light returning to Sakura's eyes made Kakashi's heart skip a beat. She smiled a real smile as she leaned over to grab the bear and the card and began to read aloud:

"' Sakura, I'm so sorry I yelled at you. I had no idea what had happened. I should've listened to you before exploding. I hope that when you wake up, you'll find it in your heart to forgive me. Love, Ino. P.S. Kakashi-sama never left your side for a second. You should hear him out.'"

As she read, Kakashi's face grew hotter and hotter. He held his head in his hands and silently cursed Ino for adding that to the card.

"Kakashi?" Sakura ran her fingers through his hair, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine. "I knew already."

Kakashi peaked out between her fingers and saw her smiling at him, a light blush blooming across her face.

"You did?" He spoke softly, embarrassed she'd known.

"I heard you and Ino talking briefly before she left."

Kakashi felt his face grow even hotter. "So, you were awake when-"

"Yes." She interrupted him with a soft giggle. "I was awake when you kissed my forehead."

"Oh," Kakashi couldn't think of anything else to say. He had no idea she was awake.

"Hey," she said softly. "Look at me."

Kakashi reluctantly looked up to see the brightest smile in her face that he'd ever seen and it took his breath away.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked as she hooked one finger on the edge of his mask.

"I'm no good for-"

"Oh, shut up." She laughed before pulling herself up and leaning over to tug his mask down all the way to kiss him softly.

Kakashi felt like the world stopped. The happiness that bloomed inside his heart was overwhelming. He closed his eyes and reached up to caress her cheek with shaking fingers.

Sakura pulled away and leaned her forehead against his, a warm smile on her freshly kissed lips.

Kakashi's heart fluttered in his chest as he kissed her nose playfully, causing her to giggle before pulling away.

Kakashi opened his eyes as Sakura laid back down and grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together.

"How did you know, other than feeling that kiss?"

Sakura's expression darkened and Kakashi regretted asking.

"You don't-"

"While I was unconscious," she interrupted him wish an anguished sigh. "I saw some things. Old memories. I saw Sasuke on that bridge when I left my group to kill him."

Kakashi stiffened at the memory. He was lucky he'd gotten there in time to save her from Sasuke's chidori. Sakura felt his muscles tense and caressed the side of his hand with her thumb before continuing.

"I could feel you radiating relief when you stopped him. I knew then that you cared deeply for me." She smiled and squeezed his fingers.

"Then I was thrown into a different scenario." Sakura paused to take a shaking breath, her expression changing completely.

"I was in my apartment, in front of my bathroom and I saw you sitting on the floor… with my body in your arms."

Kakashi gasped softly and squeezed her hand.

"I heard what you said to me and I," she choked back her tears as a few escaped and fell into her lap. "Kakashi, I'm so sorry."

Kakashi stood and awkwardly leaned over her to wrap her in his embrace. Sakura shifted so he could sit comfortably on the bed. She laid her head on his shoulder as the tears fell.

"Please don't cry. It's okay." He kissed the top of her head and hugged her tighter into his side.

"There's one more." She spoke through her tears and took a deep breath.

"I was here, in the hospital, but it was the afternoon before I saw Ino and disappeared. I saw myself standing in front of a bassinet, holding two… two.."

Sakura began to weep at the memory and Kakashi held her and rubbed her arm reassuringly until she calmed down.

She wiped her running nose on the hospital gown she was wearing and let out a shaky laugh.

"I must look like a wreck."

Kakashi reached up and put his hand under her chin, still wet with tears, and turned her to face him.

"You've always looked beautiful to me. Crying, angry, happy. All of it."

Sakura felt her face grow warm at his words. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"Welcome home, Sakura." He whispered before pulling her into his arms again.

Sakura giggled and wrapped her arms around him in return.

"I've never been happier to be back."

The next few hours were filled with tears, mild scolding, hugs, and forgiveness. Tsunade put Kakashi on guard while Sakura was put under monitoring for the next few days. To which Sakura blushed and Ino winked.

Sakura was happy to have made up with her friend and that Tsunade wasn't too mad at her. But Ino? Tsunade took Ino off of active duty and gave her a mountain of paperwork that'd take weeks to finish.

Kakashi was relieved and happy. His nightmares of seeing Sakura's dead body quickly subsided soon after she began spending nights with him. Whenever he'd get woken up by a nightmare, she'd curl herself around him and run her fingers through his hair until he relaxed. He's never been more grateful for someone's presence in his entire life.

Sakura made a full recovery and was back working in the hospital within the following week.

Kakashi stepped down as Hokage shortly after and handed the hat down to Naruto, who accepted it with tears in his eyes.

"If only Pervy Sage could see me now." He mumbled to himself before walking forward to give his speech to the village.

Kakashi wrapped his arm around Sakura's waist and pulled her close.

"I'm sure he's watching over us all, Naruto. He'd be so proud of you." Sakura said as she wiped away some stray tears.

Naruto nodded with that lopsided grin of his and waved at the cheering crowd enthusiastically.

Sakura looked up at Kakashi and kissed his cheek. He looked down at her with a slight blush.

"Everything worked out okay in the end, didn't it?" She smiled.

"I suppose so." He smiled back and watched as Naruto's lifelong dream was finally achieved.

Sakura snuggled into his side and sighed softly, fully content with the happy turn her life had taken.


End file.
